The National Center for Men filed a lawsuit March 9 in U.S. District Court in Michigan designed to grant fathers similar parenthood rights to those of women.

The argument: If a pregnant woman can choose among abortion, adoption or raising a child, a man involved in an unintended pregnancy should have the choice of declining the financial responsibilities of fatherhood. The activists involved hope to spark discussion even if they lose.

“There’s such a spectrum of choice that women have ­— it’s her body, her pregnancy and she has the ultimate right to make decisions,” Mel Feit, director of the men’s center told reporters. “I’m trying to find a way for a man also to have some say over decisions that affect his life profoundly.”